“My test subjects are of no interest to you,” Brewer Bawu huffed, dismissively waving her hand.

“As your student, I’m very interested in them,” I said. “Maybe you could even say they’re our test subjects?” I tried winking at Bawu with my two right side eyes.

"As my student, you should concentrate on the tasks I give you. Steer your attention back to important matters and complete your next assignment!”

[ Quest: Scraping for Samples III ]

At the cusp of completion, Mad Brewer Bawu’s secret project requires a large number of materials. Collect one thousand (1000) [Toxic Goop] and one (1) [Blighted Vinereaver Essence]. Do it with haste and prudence, for Bawu’s trust in you has grown immensely. Don’t fail her now.

I raised a brow. A lot of [Toxic Goop] was required though we should be able to collect them fast enough; I had plenty extra in my inventory. The problem was the [Blighted Vinereaver Essence]. Did that mean there was a Blighted version of Zoar Elab roaming the tunnels? Hopefully, it was just a Moa Manot level of a Vinereaver. I didn’t think she’d want me to catch a Vinereaver outside and infect with Blight.

“Uh-oh, she doesn’t want to tell,” Megan said.

“She gave me a quest instead,” I said. “Another collection quest.”

Nitana chuckled. “All in a gross day’s work, I guess?”

“The meat pie gift didn’t do its thing?” Megan asked. She had a grimace on her face, displeased with the prospect of wading through Blighted monsters again. “I thought it’d make her nicer.”

“Herald, how about we do that quest and return later?” Kezo suggested. “She’ll be in a better mood by then, and you can continue questioning her.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Nitana said.

“No, I’ll press her about this,” I said, recalling when I didn’t immediately follow Bawu’s orders, instead baiting her into the poison challenge.

And that wasn’t the first time I went ‘against’ the supposed script with an NPC.

I also argued with Mehubanarath when that giant burnt-out charcoal wanted to cut ties with me because I interacted with his nephew, supposedly ‘tainting’ my Ancestral Flames. There should be something I could use to force Bawu to cough up where she was getting—kidnapping—the test subjects unknown to Mardukryon players.

Kezo’s idea of completing the quest first was better in a vacuum. Similar to doing Arakmad’s errands made him warm up to me and share his secrets, it’d most likely also work with Bawu. The problem was that I couldn’t predict what’d happen while I was busy farming [Toxic Goop]. Better she told me about the secret areas now, or at least give some hints, because the next time I’d be here, this place might already be a battlefield.

I tried the student route again. Bawu wouldn’t budge. Fair. A school principal wouldn’t share with a student where the school was getting their supplies or other administrative matters like that.

Next, I argued that I could help gather test subjects. She countered that Ladambor, Melasbo, and her other creations were doing just fine. Then I appealed to her competitive side, saying that Healer Gula let me help gather ingredients. Bawu circled the topic back to the quest she gave me.

I tried many other lines, switching around my sentences. Nothing worked. Bawu didn’t want to answer unless I returned with the materials she wanted. Something drastic was needed.

“Perhaps we should move on and do what she says?” Kezo suggested. “We’ll be quick.”

“Yeah, Kezo’s right,” Nitana said. “Continuing to push her might make her angry. Just like what Megan did—”

“Hey, you promised not to tell anyone about that,” Megan protested.

“Okay, then I won’t.” Nitana grinned. “Just going to say it’s the origin story of Megan being super polite to merchant NPCs.”

Before the two could start bickering again, I told them, “One last thing to try. If this doesn’t pan out, then we’ll go.” Turning to Bawu, I said, “If you don’t tell me where you got the Saurians and those other monsters, I won’t help you gather Toxic Goops.”

Megan gasped, about to say something, but Nitana stopped her. Kezo nodded at me, understanding my plan.

Bawu had bemoaned asking for help from an ‘ignorant youngling,’ meaning she wouldn't bother talking to me if she could dispense with my service and do it herself. This wasn’t the first time she complained about this. For some reason, she wouldn’t send her pets to hunt down the Blighted.

There might be a risk that they could become infected by the Blight. Bawu’s precious creations destroyed by her own mistake? That’d be embarrassing and something she’d want to avoid. She had to turn to me.

I had a bargaining chip—I was an irreplaceable employee.

And what was the most potent weapon of aggrieved employees? Going on strike! Thankfully, Dolly hadn’t experienced that. Our contracts were way above industry standards, as subjects of Herald should be rightfully treated. But then again, we haven’t had any rank-and-file employees asking about our supply lines.

Bawu raised her fist and stood straight at fall height, towering over me. “How dare a youngling like you—" she began to shriek.

“It’s scientific curiosity,” I hastily explained. “Just like you’re obsessed with offing the Mountain Guardian, I was enthralled by your marvelous test subjects as I fought them. I want to gather the same creatures to test my brews.”

“You place your experiments on the same pedestal as mine?” Bawu raged. “My orders come first and—”

“My journey as an Arcane Brewer is important to me,” I said. “Just as important as helping you.” I was about to say more important, but that might be pushing it. “This shows my dedication as a student. Do you remember your days as an apprentice? Surely, you can relate to my eagerness to learn.”

Megan and Nitana clapped behind me. Megan was probably impressed by my obviously impressive speech, while Nitana clapped sarcastically. I couldn’t see Kezo, but I bet he was giving my back a thumbs up—which I deserved because I got Mad Brewer Bawu to listen.

“The Saurians, the Glacial Haunts, creatures I hadn’t encountered before,” I continued. “I want to experiment on them. Plenty to study and much knowledge to be gained. Yes, this is selfish, but I’m not backing down on it. Tell me the location of those fascinating creatures, and I’ll get you the chemicals you need.”

Bawu stroked her thin tusks with her crooked nails. “I see my young self in you… However, that doesn’t equate to permission to disobey me!” She pointed her finger at me. “I am your master. You are the apprentice. Do not forget your place.” My heart sank. All that speech-making for nothing? But Bawu wasn’t done. “Complete the task I gave you in the allotted time, and I’ll answer your inane inquiries!”

[ Quest: Scraping for Samples III ]

At the cusp of completion, the final stage of Mad Brewer Bawu’s secret project requires a large number of materials. Collect one thousand (1000) [Toxic Goop] and one (1) [Blighted Vinereaver Essence]. Complete the task within three (3) hours, and Bawu will reveal the source of her test subjects.

“The details of the quest were modified,” I said, twirling my fingers to flip the quest details screen and share it with my party mates. “There’s a timer now.”

“…reveal the source,” Nitana read.

"That's what we want," Kezo said.

“This is my last say on the matter, youngling,” Bawu said. “Leave if you don’t ascent to my condition!”

“You probably should accept this,” Kezo said. Megan and Nitana also agreed.

“You’re right,” I said. “I don’t think I’ll get a better deal than this. Brewer… Teacher Bawu, I’ll get right on it!”

“What are we still doing here, Herald?” Megan asked. “This place gives me the creeps.” She held her flare-tipped wand higher, examining the metal pipes etched with runes lining the middle of the rocky ceiling. “Oh yeah! We also have a timer. Three hours, was it? That’s the more important thing.”

“We should get going and complete the quest,” Nitana said. “Lots of those goopy something to gather. Like a thousand?”

“I’m sure Herald has a reason why we’re exploring this area,” Kezo said. “And I’m also sure we can complete that quest with teamwork. Although… we should keep in mind our farming speed is halved.”

“Halved?” Megan said.

“The drops from the Blighted will spread equally between the four of us,” Kezo explained. “Then the level gap penalty will apply. The monsters are around your and Nitana’s level, so you’ll surely get the drops. Herald and I are way below and above, respectively, so we’ll be penalized and receive only a trifle of loot. In total, we’ll get about half of what our party should. A bit more than half. Maybe it’s better if I leave the party to reduce the division—”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “You’re right that we’ll finish the quest in time.” With the help of the [Large Fragile Bundle] from the much-delayed quest Dangerous Return of the Dangerous, I was confident the Blighted would come flocking to us like we were rockstars. Zombie rockstars. “I just want to check something quick. It’s related to—Hide!”

A large shadow exited the mouth of the cave up ahead. Heavy and sloppy footsteps signaled that the owner of the shadow was soon to follow. The four of us huddled behind some crates, probably items packed for Bawu’s move, assuming she did actually plan to move residences. It was a Heraldean task hiding four massive bull centaurs, but we succeeded. [Lvl 46 Carrion Golem: Ladambor] stomped past without noticing us.

“Hurry!” I trotted to the cave Ladambor had just left, waving for my teammates to follow. “Come quick before the Carrion Golem returns.”

“What was that bizarre ugly monster guarding?” Megan asked.

“You’ll see. And don’t scream.”

“Why would I—? Oh my gosh!”

“Herald just said that’s the thing you weren’t supposed to do,” Nitana said. “But I agree with your sentiment.”

“Me too,” Kezo said.

The four of us stood before the vats containing the colossal mutant experiments that once were the village guards. There were still six of them. Bawu didn’t manage to get her hands on more people. Perhaps this batch was sufficient for her.

“Are they Mardukryons?” Kezo asked. “Their forms… They have body parts from different monsters, but I can see they’re centaur-like.”

I nodded, explaining roughly what Bawu planned to do with these monsters. “The last time I was here, I submitted the first batch of Toxic Goop I farmed to Bawu. I expected she’d have used those by now to make her creations even more…”

“More monstrous?” Nitana supplied.

“The poor village guards,” said Megan. “You mean to say they look worse now?”

“No, they look exactly the same.” I scratched my tusk in thought. “I’m not sure… but Bawu might be using the Toxic Goop for something else.”